Unbelievable
by Daelie
Summary: Completed. The fourth and final story in my Proposal Series. BradyJennifer.


"Unbelievable."  
  
Echoing Chloe's sentiments, Philip murmured, "I just can't believe it."  
  
"Amazing," gasped Belle with wide-eyed wonder.  
  
"Ah, man," muttered Shawn, rubbing his face with his hands.  
  
"No way," Mimi slowly murmured.  
  
Lightly shaking his head, Jason groaned, "I always said it was a contagious disease."  
  
Brady, not entirely satisfied with his friends' responses, quickly shut the ring box. With his usual air of nonchalance, he questioned, "What's up with all the disbelief?"  
  
Philip took it upon himself to be the voice of reason among the surprised group of friends. "Brady, well, sometimes when you think you love someone it's best to just let them go because it isn't meant to be."  
  
"I know," lowly answered Brady as he sent Chloe a meaningful look. "But, I also know that there are times when you have to hold on and never let go. This is one of those times."  
  
"But . . ." began Belle.  
  
"No buts, Tink. I love her. All I have to do is get her to admit that she loves me, too."  
  
Seeing that none of his companions were going to say a word, Shawn replied, "Um, Brady, I don't want to sound like the voice of doom and gloom, but she's had plenty of time to admit her feelings for you – and she hasn't."  
  
Brady, his optimism undaunted, retorted, "She hasn't admitted her feelings yet. Come on, you guys know that this is a complicated situation. But, you also know that I'm in love with her and have been for quite some time."  
  
"No one here is trying to say you don't love her," softly stated Chloe. "It's just that you were right when you said it's a complicated situation. Are you sure that you're ready for everything that comes along with proposing?"  
  
"I can't believe this," grumbled Brady as his patience began to dwindle away. "I'm sitting here with three old married couples who are telling me to not get married. What is wrong with you guys? For God's sake, if Masters can actually handle marriage, it'll be a walk in the park for me."  
  
Jason wisely chose to ignore Brady's comment about his previous commitment phobia. Instead, he merely commented, "If it'll shut you up, I say just go for it. Pop the question."  
  
"Jason," hissed Mimi. "Don't tell him to just rush into it!"  
  
"Rush? Meems, the guy has been devoted to that woman since before any of us even got married."  
  
"Your hubby has a point," acknowledged Brady in his own defense. "It wasn't too long after Shawn and Belle became engaged that I really started to see her in a romantic light. By the time you and Jason got married last year, I was hopelessly in love with her."  
  
Her innate perkiness shining through, Belle said, "Brady, we're not trying to bring you down. We just don't want you to get in over your head."  
  
"I'm not," answered Brady with a genuine smile. Glancing at his watch, he commented, "Well, I've got to get back to the office. I'll see you guys later."  
  
Watching her brother rise from his seat and depart the Brady Pub, Belle gently said, "I've never seen my brother be so open about his feelings. I just hope he doesn't end up getting his heart broken."  
  
~ * * ~ * * ~ * * ~ * * ~ * * ~  
  
Less than an hour after leaving his desk at Basic Black, Brady found himself stepping out of the hospital elevator. He had barely taken two steps into the lobby when a pretty teenage girl was wrapping her arms around his torso.  
  
"Hey, you," Brady greeted with his warmest smile. "How's the charity function going?"  
  
Pulling away from the man twelve years her senior, Abby Deveraux slyly answered, "It's going okay, but I doubt you really care."  
  
His smile only growing, Brady played innocent and challenged, "Oh, really?"  
  
Abby simply shook her head and replied, "She's in the conference room, you dork."  
  
"Thanks, Abby," responded Brady enthusiastically as he began to swiftly head toward the hallway that housed the hospital's conference room.  
  
Stopping him in his tracks, Abby loudly called out, "Don't forget to bend on one knee!"  
  
Without even bothering to turn around, Brady gave the teenager a quick thumbs up before continuing his hurried pace down the corridor.  
  
Just as Brady was about to reach for the conference room door knob, he heard a voice behind him shriek, "Brady Black!"  
  
Biting his lip, Brady wondered if there was any chance he could just be swallowed up by the floor below him. As the person continued to approach him and repeated his name, Brady knew he was most certainly trapped.  
  
"Well, are you going to look at me or not?"  
  
Going against his better judgment, Brady slowly turned and looked at the most infuriating woman he knew. "Hi, Sami."  
  
"Well?" demanded Brady's stepsister.  
  
"Well, what?"  
  
Sami rolled her eyes and asked, "Have you asked her yet?"  
  
"Asked who what?" Brady responded in an attempt to evade Sami's gossipy nature. His only reward was a rather harsh slap on the arm.  
  
Glaring at Brady, Sami groaned, "You know exactly what I'm talking about. Have you proposed yet?"  
  
"First, the answer is no. Second, how do you even know I'm planning to propose tonight?"  
  
As though it was the most logical of answers, Sami replied, "Mom called to tell me."  
  
"Marlena knows?"  
  
"Yeah, Belle stopped by the penthouse this afternoon and told her."  
  
"This is just great," grumbled Brady. "Is there anyone who doesn't know?"  
  
"Other than the bride-to-be? No." Feeling that she had effectively tortured her stepsibling enough for one evening, Sami concluded, "I've got to get back to work. Have fun."  
  
Watching his stepmother's daughter disappear around the corner, Brady mumbled to himself, "Sami Brady work? That'll be the day."  
  
Slowly returning his hand to the doorknob, Brady took a deep breath. He could not remember ever being so nervous. Now that the moment had finally arrived, he felt as if his heart was about to pound right out of his chest. And, the simple task of breathing was becoming increasingly difficult.  
  
Pushing aside all the worries and fears that had suddenly assaulted him, Brady took one more deep breath and opened the conference room door.  
  
Brady pushed the door open slowly. As he stood looking at the beautiful blonde, Brady knew that after years of trying to be totally and completely self-reliant, he was finally ready to let someone into his life. However, he fully understood that the real question was if she was ready to build a life with him. And, even if she was emotionally ready, would her more logical side really allow such an unorthodox marriage that followed their rather atypical relationship?  
  
Clearing his throat to announce his presence, Brady took a cautious step into the conference. Known for his palpable confidence, Brady surprised even himself with the sudden feelings of apprehension that began to well up within him.  
  
"Hey, you." Even as the words were leaving his mouth, Brady silently pondered what would inspire him to give such a bland and inarticulate greeting to the woman he planned to momentarily propose to. At the very moment he needed to be at his most charming, all he could say was, "Hey, you."  
  
Nervously tucking a strand of hair behind her right ear, the attractive blonde looked at Brady with a distinctive fusion of surprise, delight, and trepidation. Offering him a smile, she asked, "What are you up to now?"  
  
"Me? Up to something?" Brady sarcastically replied, grinning like a fool. "I'm not up to anything."  
  
"Oh, so you just decided to drop by to donate your time and money to the hospital fundraiser?" The look of slight nervousness that overtook Brady brought an even brighter smile to the woman's face. "Okay, if that's not why you're here, what's really going on?"  
  
Brady attempted to give his very best smile, hoping it would fully exhibit the charm he hoped to still possess. With merely three strides, Brady reached the conference table and sat himself on the corner closer to the woman. Less than three feet separated their bodies, and Brady could barely catch the soft scent of her floral body fragrance. Like the woman herself, the scent was gentle and strangely comforting.  
  
His own smile faltering, Brady quietly stated, "I think it's time that we really talk."  
  
"Why is that?"  
  
"Because, Jennifer Horton, I am - and will always be - completely in love with you."  
  
The room seemed to immediately be overtaken by a silence so thick and powerful that it was almost suffocating. Brady instantly wished that he had thought out the conversation a little better when he noticed the deer-in- the-headlights look that crept into each of Jennifer's facial features.  
  
"Brady . . ." Jennifer paused as she mentally searched for an excuse to flee the room. Her voice obviously faltering, she lied, "I really need to . . . check on the fundraiser. I'm sure that some of the volunteers are ready to go home. I should really step in . . ."  
  
Just as Jennifer was passing by Brady, he reached out his right hand and tenderly took hold of her wrist. His tone conveyed both earnestness and passion as he said, "What I think you really need to do is sit down and face facts."  
  
A single look into Brady's determined blue eyes told Jennifer that it would be pointless to even attempt an argument. Sitting down beside him, she said, "Alright, I'll stay."  
  
"How much longer are we going to keep on doing this?" Brady questioned. Continuing before Jennifer could interject, Brady added, "And, don't give me that innocent smile and act like you don't know what I'm talking about."  
  
Venturing an uneasy glance at the man beside her, Jennifer said, "Brady, you know how much I care about you. That is why I have always worked so hard to keep you from falling for me."  
  
"Well, you failed miserably," Brady wryly observed.  
  
Jennifer laughed softly. That was why she had been unable to resist Brady's advances. No matter what the situation, Brady Black warmed her heart without even having to consciously try. She found there was only one word to describe him. Irresistible.  
  
"Yeah, it wasn't like you've made it easy on me. Not giving into you is quite a task, Brady Black."  
  
"Then, why do you keep trying?" Hurriedly running his hand through his short blonde hair, Brady requested, "Please, Jennifer, just stop pushing me away."  
  
"I'm only trying to protect you."  
  
"Protect me . . . from loving you? Gee, Jen, thanks."  
  
Releasing a sigh, Jennifer replied, "The truth is I love you. I love you more than any man I have ever known."  
  
Brady clasped his hands together and pondered how to approach the topic at hand. After years of pursuing the stunning blonde, Brady was finally ready to end the hunt and enjoy the catch.  
  
"So, we can both agree that we're madly in love with each other. Then, I think it's time we both admit how serious this relationship is. For so long we've been trying to deny what we share. And, frankly, I just can't keep pretending this is some light-hearted courtship."  
  
"I don't take our relationship lightly," sincerely responded Jennifer. "But, even you have to admit that there are obvious barriers and differences."  
  
Releasing an almost empty laugh, Brady said, "You mean there is an obvious age difference."  
  
Transparent guilt washed over Jennifer's face as she drowned in Brady's blunt vocalization of her reservations.  
  
Saving Jennifer from making any type of fumbled response, Brady laboriously continued, "For God's sake, we're both adults . . . adults who happen to love each other." His frustration increasing, Brady added, "Of course, from the way you're acting, you'd think one of us was a misguided minor, Mrs. Robinson."  
  
Jennifer tried to keep from laughing but found temptation too great. Swatting Brady's arm, she giggled, "That's not funny."  
  
His own frustrations quickly dissolving, Brady retorted, "Sure it is."  
  
"Okay, maybe it was just a little funny," Jennifer declared, using her thumb and index finger to indicate a miniscule amount. Changing her tone to one of a more serious nature Jennifer said, "Brady, you're not even thirty years old, and I'm the mother of a teenage girl. Surely you can see why I'm hesitant."  
  
"So, this really is about the age difference?"  
  
"No . . . well, maybe," Jennifer answered, her voice laden with uncertainty. "I just don't want you to become a part of my life only to realize that it's completely wrong for you. Being with me involves so much more than being with one of those Basic Black models that follow you around."  
  
Interrupting his beloved, Brady asked with a grin, "What models?"  
  
Jennifer rolled her eyes contentedly and replied, "You know what models. All those twenty year old girls who model for Basic Black adore you. The last time I dared visit you at work, I thought those poor girls were just going to faint whenever you showed them the slightest attention."  
  
"That is ridiculous. And, even if it were true, what would it matter? I know who I want to be with – and some teenager with a crush on my bank account won't change that."  
  
"Oh, it's more than your bank account that those girls are checking out," Jennifer replied with surprising seriousness.  
  
"I don't care," simply answered Brady. "I honestly don't care. As for a life with you being a little more complex – good. That's just the way I like it. Besides, Abby not only adores me but respects me. I'd never try to be her father, and she knows that."  
  
Staring into Brady's eyes, Jennifer felt as if she were truly looking into the darkest corners of his soul. Her voice hardly more than a whisper, she stated with a sense of awe, "You really love me."  
  
"And, I always will." Deciding that enough time had been wasted on trivial conversation and enough years had been squandered on the pursuit, Brady muttered, "Well, Abby gave me some quick advice before I came in here, so I should probably do what the girl said."  
  
"What advice would that be?"  
  
"That I should place myself like so . . ." Removing himself from the conference room table, Brady stood and placed himself directly in front of Jennifer. As he slowly dropped himself to the floor, he situated his athletic body in the traditional bended knee position.  
  
From his pocket, Brady seized the object that had practically been burning a hole in his pocket. Opening the box lid, he smiled and revealed the exquisite diamond engagement ring that he prayed Jennifer would accept.  
  
He slowly lifted the ring and said, "I love you. I don't know when it happened or how, but it's true. And, I realize that life has sad moments that counter each happy one, but you, Jennifer Rose Horton, are the one I want to spend every moment of my life with. I want to go to sleep with you each night and wake every morning to see your face. I want to fight with you and Abby over what movie we watch on Saturday nights. I want to make you my wife. Will you marry me?"  
  
As the question floated on the air, Jennifer felt the tears slowly slip down her cheeks. Looking down into Brady's eyes, she knew there was only one right answer. "Yes. Yes, I will marry you!"  
  
In an instant, Brady had slipped the ring on Jennifer finger and pulled her into his arms. After years of uncertainty, Brady had finally discovered his destiny.  
  
Quickly kissing Jennifer's forehead, Brady chuckled, "It's a good thing you said yes, because I'm all but certain that Marlena, Belle, and Abby are already planning the engagement party."  
  
"They know you were going to propose?"  
  
"Baby, just try to find someone who didn't," laughed Brady. Kissing Jennifer's left ring finger, he muttered, "I'm so incredibly happy – it's unbelievable."  
  
THE END 


End file.
